Well, if you're looking in Mecklenburg county, look at Matthews. There you have the Little League,the Farmers Market,local businesses,access to I485,strong town leadership,a town green where they hold spring/summer/fall concerts/arts and crafts shows/childrens carnival. Matthews is very independent of Charlotte. They even repave their own roads. Taxes are cheaper than Charlotte and the town has plenty of corporate and manufacturing tax support. Good banks..BB@T is the strongest most solid bank in North Carolina (no TARP funds needed). Local theater for plays. Lots of church variety to choose from. One church has its own K-12 school (Covanent). Matthews School (elementary) is still excellent. There are actually multiple elementary schools,middle school and high school although assignment is determined by your location and schools are part of Mecklenburg County public school system. Big, new, town library. Presbyterian/Matthews Hospital. Marios Pizza, Carrabas and tons of other good eateries. Siskey YMCA (huge indoor outdoor facilities) The weather is a micro climate in most parts of Matthews. It can be a touch cooler/colder than Charlotte and Pineville but in 20 years and one hurricane (Hugo) I found the worst of the weather skips west of Matthews. Water quality is good, better than what we have in Union County (different source). Of the Mecklenburg towns, including Charlotte, I'd say Matthews has best adapted itself to accommadating northern transplants while retaining the Southern flavor and hospitality.

My other house is in Matthews. I'm in Weddington, for now. If I knew your price range I could point you in the right direction. Mecklenburg is high tax, average services,rising water bills etc. Matthews used to be a really feisty,independent town always fighting from being dominated by Charlotte/Meck politicians. I say, 'used to be'. Still, the taxes are lower than Charlotte even with Meck taxes added on and you get great services from town police and fire while getting Mecklenburg service for power/water/garbage and trash pickup. First thing to remember not to be impressed with is the cost of living vs. 'up nawth'. It only seems cheaper until you get your paycheck. Cost of living is tied to local wages. Now Waxhaw..I live near Blakeney and Prov. CC but in Union Cty. and Waxhaw 'address' but Waxhaw the town is a fur piece down the road and I've yet to make it there in 15 min. from 51 and Sardis or Rea and Providence. I'd say, if you stick to looking north of Newtown Road and in the proximity of access to Providence Road you'll have your hands full in any price range you need. Much south of Newtown and you'll have to get up half hour or more earlier to get to work because most of Union residents travel Providence or Hwy 74 to get to Charlotte businesses. I know, too much information. If you want great service from an agent you have to do some of the leg work first. Gas prices being what they are now, few agents are going to give you the whole tour to familiarize you with the area unless you define the area first. Wish I still had my license but glad I don't so I am free to tell you what to avoid without getting in trouble. One note, Mecklenburg just reassessed for property taxes and the values are wacko out of line. Way too high. Union is pretty stable because, as the fastest growing county in NC, it has exploded with new construction in the last 10 years. Be cautious with newer homes. Too many were thrown up in haste on fill soil that didn't have time to compact. The better builders took their time and did it right. Another thing, when you find a house you want to make an offer on, be SURE to make it also contingent upon determining where the water pressure reduction valve is located. You want it installed within a foot of your in-ground water meter on your side of the meter..no closer to the house or at the house. Union's fast growth has them buying water from all sources out of the county and the pumping pressure to get to all these new developments means higher pressures in some areas and pressure spikes that blow out your underground water lines. I had a $450. water bill last October before the leak surfaced between the expansion joints of my concrete driveway. Killed off a gorgeous evergreen so it had been seeping for a while underground. In a hot summer you expect high water bills so it went unnoticed until the tree up and died. I had a lucky solution that didn't involve having to tear up my driveway and repave it but other folks I know weren't that lucky. Find out where that pressure reduction valve on the main water supply line to that house is. Don't let the seller tell you they have a pest control contract in lieu of a 'clear termite letter' when you go to close the deal. If a house is listed with a Realtor they must provide you with a seller's disclosure form..things about the house and property you might not think to ask about. Builders don't have that requirement nor do 'for sale by owner' sellers. Schools...I can confidently say that Marvin Ridge middle and high schools, Weddington High School and any of the north west elementaries are better than the rest of Union and certainly better than the Mecklenburg mess they've made of their schools. Expect crowded schools..even the brand new ones. Union is still growing. Sorry all for such a long post.

Hi Everyone, Interesting debate of the line of demarcation for sabals along the east coast. I would love that line to continue moving north and here's a few thoughts. Years ago (1995) Virgina Beach barely had any palms, along the coast I visited the winter wind was too strong "some" years. I could have guessed a mile from the shore they would have done better and indeed Palms have caught on and are doing better. As street trees, by the Spring they appear to me to need help(colder years), but as yard trees they do well. The pindo palm is relatively new and catching on well also. One may measure a "natural" line of demarcation to see if the palm can successlly bloom and have seeds grow. TZ7 has a good point that they may be able to survive the delmarva penninsula, but that's within microclimates (against a house or building). For me its amazing more people have not tried it. Usually you see them planted on beaches in the north(maryland, del, Jesey, even Long Island) and they do not make it - 1, because cold wind, 2, temps temps too low too long. However, I theorize that we may be able to have cabbage (sabal) palms survive in our better sheletered microclimates (in those areas) with winter proetcion from wind. Against a tall house with a heated basement for example. During milder years it would not need protection. T7 I beleive correctly pionts out many of the cabbage palms north are not that large (except Laura in VB) with rare exceptions. She's an expert and knew where and how to cultivate best. With that know how it is very doable - but for regular folks planting along streets, I am not sure the natural line is that far north. I do not mind to be proved wrong about this.

Personally, I just dont think that VB, or anywhere in that general area along the immediate cost is going to suffer that kind of super killing cold snap. The power of the ocean and the gulf stream is just too great. Even areas of the Chesapeake bay coast are suitable for naturalisation of S. Minors and R. Hystrix, as are areas of the large cities of the mid Atlantic. As I said, and Brooklyngreg has also apparently seen, they are naturalising in the DC area, and not just downtown. In fact, the windmill and the S. Minors and Needle palms in front of the Air and Space museum are doing SO well, and naturalising so much, that it appears ( based on what I saw last summer) that the flower/ seed stalks are now being removed, and there are literally hundreds of volunteers beneath all of these palms. There are now 3 needle palms in the national arboretum that I could count on my trip there last weekend, and it appears that two were offspring of the 50 year old palm, and have been moved to other areas. I do remember there were more than just the big one in the asian valley section, and now there is just the big one by itself again. at the very minimum, S. Minor and R. Hystrix already are ( and probably will) naturlise in the mid Atlantic & DC and quite possibly so will some Windmills. That said, I just dont think that Sabal Palmettos will ever be able to naturalise this far north / indland. Perhaps on the lower coastal areas of the delmarva peninsula but I dont seem them going much further than that. They just are not hardy enough IMHO. In very protected locations sure, they could survive, as does saw palmetto here, but just out in the open, probably not.